


A Thief's Garden

by Merrr



Category: Original Work
Genre: Collars, Dubious Consent, Gen, M/M, Magic, Multi, Non-Sexual Slavery, Rape/Non-con Elements, Sexual Slavery, Slavery, Touch-Starved, Violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-09
Updated: 2020-06-05
Packaged: 2021-02-28 20:48:46
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 5
Words: 14,102
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23073481
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Merrr/pseuds/Merrr
Summary: Cole grew up in a gang after his mother died; one night in a rougher part of town well getting drunk Cole was kidnapped and taken to Darko to be sold as a slave. Cole is bought by a Darkonion noble, Lord Grey. Cole will have to learn to play the part of a good little slave if he expects to have any chance of survival.
Comments: 17
Kudos: 35





	1. Prologue

Cole sat huddled crying in an ally. His mother had just passed away and the landlord had tossed him out saying that he had no use for freeloaders. 

Being only 8 years old Cole didn’t know what to do without his mother, and he had no father. His father had left before Cole’s mother had even known she was pregnant. Then with no husband and her reputation ruined, Cole’s mother had started working at a brothel. 

Cole had never liked all the men who fawned over his mother there, but it had kept them fed and housed which his mother had always told him to be grateful for. 

But now Cole had nothing; he was going to die on the streets. Just as these thoughts had started to plague Cole a tall man approached him. This man was rough looking with a solid build, but he gave a kind smile when he knelt down to Cole’s level. 

“Hey there, what are you cryin about? Are you lost?” the man asked.

Cole explained to the man his situation. 

“Well then boy, how about you come and join my gang? I’ll take care of ya in exchange for some favours.” The man offered. 

This sounded like a much better option then staying out on the streets to Cole so he agreed. 

As Cole quickly found out these favours included distracting guards by playing the lost child, and slipping into small spaces that an adult couldn’t fit, since most security systems were designed to defend against adults not a small, scrawny child. 

As the years passed Cole became a very competent thief. He was good at going unnoticed, so he was an excellent pick pocket. He could pick most locks and with the right tools could even take down magical protections despite not having a gift of his own. 

Cole was also proficient at fighting, mostly due to necessity since the men he grew up with weren’t exactly all sunshine and rainbows. Cole hoped to one day be as good as Wade, after all Wade had taught him most of what he knew. The lifestyle wasn’t always pleasant since they were often hiding from the authorities and his companions were a bit rough around the edges, but Cole wouldn’t ever complain, it was much better than a life on the streets. 

Besides Wade and Cole, the gang was made up of thirteen others. They weren’t exactly a family and Cole hadn’t ever dared to call them such out loud, but Cole liked to think of them as one. Especially Wade who was the closest thing to a father Cole had ever had. Despite the cold and efficient attitude Wade always showed Cole, Cole still figured that since the man was the one to teach him to fight, pick locks, and kept him relatively comfortable – Wade was displaying almost fatherly behaviour. It was certainly much better then others in the gang that like to corner him and bully him when Wade wasn’t around. 

Some liked to beat him, others would lie to Wade saying that he needed a whipping for a made up misbehaviour. Cole didn’t ever get seriously hurt since that would damage his ability to steal for the gang, but he was no stranger to Wade or more often one of the other members in the gang taking a belt to him. He learned quickly that if he kept silent and did as told, - the old adage of children should be seen not heard - then most of the gang would just ignore his existence till it came time for him to play his part in the next heist. 

Cole knew this life wasn’t perfect but he was eternally grateful to Wade for taking him in and letting him prove his worth to the other gang members who weren’t so excited for a kid to be hanging around. Maybe now that he’d turned 21 (the legal drinking age in Desirraa) they’d finally accept him as a true member of the gang, not just as a dead weight.


	2. The Beginning of the End

Cole sighed, frustrated with the situation that he’d landed himself in. He’d been with the gang celebrating their most recent haul when a real pretty gal had approached him and led him away from the group. Next thing he knew he’d been jumped from behind. 

Which led to the situation he was in, turns out that the girl worked with a slaver ring - leading men to places where her crew-mates could jump the poor bastards. 

Cole had been stripped of anything valuable and was just left with his shirt and trousers. He was then shoved into a cage. He’d overheard the guards talking, apparently, he was desirable as a slave due to being old enough to do hard physical labor without issue, yet young enough that he was likely to still have plenty of years left in him. 

Cole knew that Wade would come at some point, he just wasn’t sure when. Since in the time that he’d be kidnapped they’d already loaded him and the other captives onto a ship that was now headed to god knows where. 

A couple days had passed with little incident – Cole was smart enough to know when to keep his mouth shut and head down, even if Wade might beg a differ. The guards came by twice a day to lift the little door and slide rations into the cell, it was enough that he wouldn’t starve but not enough to allow him to have extra energy to spend fighting the guards. 

A week had passed with little to note. It was the same routine ever day of being fed just enough to stay alive, and being trapped in the same small cage all day. Cole couldn’t believe it. He knew that slavery existed, but it was illegal in Desirraa. Due to the length of the ship ride Cole suspected that his captors were taking the cargo to another country where slavery was legal. Though theoretically kidnapping another county’s men was illegal, it was only in name. 

Cole felt some nerves building up he’d heard the guards mention that today was the day that some rich nobles were coming to bid on the valuables carried on the ship. These valuables varied from historical artifacts, to precious gems and to Cole’s disgust, himself and the other live cargo. 

Cole and the others had been moved from the ship into an auction building. The cages they were in were levitated to the new location. This sadly left no chance for escape. The cages were moved one by one into a room through a curtain, Cole supposed it must be the stage for the auction. After the cages came back with a number attached to them – Cole supposed it was to represent who the buyer was. 

Cole felt his stomach lurch a bit as he felt his cell start to move forward. He observed quietly as he entered the loud room. It was set up in a rather luxurious fashion, with plush chairs, and fancily carved tables with a snobbish, rich asshole stationed at each. With a quick glance Cole estimated there to be about 20 men there. 

The cage went up to the front of the room with an auctioneer situated slightly behind the cage and to the right. 

Cole put his best scowl on his face trying to make himself look unappealing as possible. 

“This here is a young male, with golden hair and hazel green eyes. He’s estimated to be in his late teens to early twenties. This here is prime stock folks that you don’t want to pass up on, he’s physically fit and unbroken which means you can train him in anyway you please. Since he’s young he should easy enough to break. Bidding will start at 10,000” the auctioneer rattled off. 

Cole watched the men who put their panels up showing interest. With the bidding stopping at 20,000. Cole felt the dread build up inside him as the number 13 was placed on his cage. He’d seen some of the precious gems and artifacts come back with this number but none of the other live cargo. 

When the end of the auction had come Cole could see that he was the only living being to be purchased by 13. The guards moved the cell into another ship. Cole could see that the auction had been by the docks. Once they were in the ship, they entered a lavish spacious cabin, the cage was placed besides another empty cage in the corner; the door was lifted aside so that one cell connected to the other. 

The guard gave Cole a jab with his baton “Ouch, what was that for?” Cole protested. 

“Get into the other cell slave or that’ll feel like a love tap,” snarled the guard. 

“Jezz you could have said so in the first place,” muttered Cole tired of staying quiet. 

“What was that, SLAVE?” the guard exclaimed narrowing his eyes, raising up his baton ready to hit down between the bars. 

However, before the guard hit him a cold voice cut through “I’d rather receive my property in one piece. Thank you, very much”. 

This must be the mystery man number 13 that - that engaged in the practice of buying live cargo. 

The guards mumbled apologies and shut the door of the new cell that Cole was in, saying that someone would arrive with the mans’ other purchases soon. The man dismissed them with a wave of his hand. 

The man looked at Cole assessing him, it made Cole feel exposed, like the man was passing judgment. 

“What is your name boy and how old are you?” Asked the man in a brisk tone. 

Cole couldn’t see any harm in sharing this information willingly. “I’m Cole and I’m 21 years old.” 

“Boy when you are addressing me you will say master, sir or my lord – I will forgive your ignorance this time since you are new but a second mistake will result in punishment.” The man gave Cole a cold look with a hard edge in his voice. 

Cole swallowed softly, that would be a hard pill to swallow, he didn’t even bother with addressing Wade properly. He figured for now he could try to address the man with sir but he couldn’t manage the other two. 

“Yes sir” Cole replied softly forcing the words out of his mouth, leaving a bad taste. 

The man smiled “Good boy, I see that you are a quick learner – hopefully you’re sensible enough to know fighting me will only bring you pain” 

“Now put your left hand through the bars and hold it out for me” the man said in an even tone. 

Cole eyed him suspiciously and thought about refusing. “Boy I am going to count to 1 and if I get there before your arm is though the bars you will regret it 3, 2 -” 

Just before the man reached 1 Cole shot his hand out and though the bars of the cell, hating himself for it, but he was scared – he had ridden with some of the toughest sons of bitches out there but with the gang if anyone hassled him too much he had Wade’s blessing to defend himself and then man’s protection if it was more then Cole could handle. He didn’t want to admit even to himself how scared he was, but he was well and truly terrified of the situation he was in. 

The man reached out and put a silver device that locked with a click around his wrist. “Now was that so hard? That there is a magical device that’s keyed to me, I can punish you by sending zaps of pain via mild lighting magic to your body if you misbehave or if you try to do anything troublesome, it will allow me to administer an immediate punishment.” 

Cole looked down at his wrist feeling despair, anger and desperation starting to creep on. He looked up in shock as the door to his cage lifted. 

“Come here and kneel in front of me” the man ordered. 

Cole looked at him, and then thought that maybe if he could knock the man out before he reacted then he could escape the ship, swim to shore or something, anything to end this nightmare. Either way he had to know, otherwise he would regret not trying. 

Cole released all of his pent-up anger, using it to fuel his courage. With a roar Cole lunged forward trying to attack the man, almost immediately his body was inundated with pain. Cole fell to the floor biting back tears. 

“I did warn you” the man said mostly seeming amused. “Now what do you say?”

“Fuck you” snarled Cole, getting another shock for his trouble. 

“Now, now that wasn’t very nice, now what do you say for causing all of this fuss?” the man asked mockingly. 

“Sorry” Cole ground out, then yelped as he felt the pain of a whip hitting his back. 

He looked up at the man in shock not expecting that, having prepared himself for another jolt. 

The man merely raised an eyebrow at him. 

“Sorry sir” Cole snarled out, to which he received another lash, though lighter. 

“Now usually I’ll allow the sir, but with that attitude you’re going to have to call me master. This point needs to be driven into your thick skull that you belong to me now. You are my possession, my property and the sooner you learn that the easier this will be” the man lectured. 

Cole panted a bit from the pain, the jolts took a lot from him; he suspected that the whip will have left bruises. Add this to the fact that he’d been underfed for the last week and he was fighting a loosing battle. Fine he would play this mans game till the opportunity to escape came. 

“Sorry Master” Cole said using his best poker voice and face.

“Good boy, now come crawl to me and then kneel” the man smiled at Cole as though he was a slow pupil that had finally come to the correct answer. 

Cole grudgingly did as he was told. The man reached out and attached a metal collar around Cole’s neck. Cole flinched as he did so but the tone of the man’s voice when he told him to still made him freeze. God dam it, why did this man scare him so – he was raised by outlaws for Pete’s sake. 

The man then looked down at Cole, “you will crawl until you have earned back the right to walk” 

The man then led Cole over to a spot beside a plush looking chair the man then secured the chain attached to Cole’s collar to a ring on the floor – it gave enough room for Cole to sit up straight but not much more then that. 

The man then sat down and picked up a book and started to read seemingly ignoring Cole’s existence. 

Cole flinched as he felt a hand touch his head. “Shush now” the man muttered. Cole stilled allowing the man to run his hand along Cole’s head, running his fingers through Cole’s hair. This continued for a bit, then stopped as the man seemed to become distracted with his book. It started up again a bit later, this time Cole managed to stay still through it. 

Cole felt such internal conflict on the one hand he felt like he should fight this man to the last breath, on the other he didn’t like being hurt – he was used to the occasional beating or injury but he hadn’t had them too often in recent years. By the time he was 10 Cole had pretty much figured out all the rules, including the silent ones that would get him a beating. Besides Wade always stopped the gang member if they went too far, and if Wade wasn’t there to stop things Cole was always reassured by the fact that if he could just last the beating from the gang member he’d pissed off in some manner then all he had to do was stick close to Wade for the next bit until the gang members anger had passed. 

This situation made him nervous Wade wasn’t here to protect him, it made him scared that he couldn’t shield himself from this new person by just sticking close to Wade. He’d always been able to avoid the more sadistic members in the gang by having Wade’s protection. 

Wade did discipline him, but it had usually been more embarrassing then meant to hurt. Wade usually chose to spank him over whip him - his pride was always hurt more then his butt. This new man was hurting him and there was no Wade to step in before things went too far. Yes, that made Cole very nervous. So far, the man hadn’t hurt him too badly. Honestly Cole got hurt worse when one of gang members decided Cole looked like an attractive punching bag. But still there was no telling how far this man would go and as far as the law was concerned this man could do anything he liked. 

Cole looked up in surprise when he heard the lock click. “Back to the cell now” the man said and shooed Cole with his hand. Remembering what the man had said earlier Cole crawled to the cell despite his embarrassment at doing so. If he could just grin and bear it the Wade would come – he had to.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well I hope you enjoyed this. I can't promise I'll finish the story but I'll try to. Regarding the tags, I'm new to using them so I wasn't really sure as to what to include, so please do let me know if you feel that I need to add any. I also may have put the Archive Warnings too high but since I'm not 100% sure as to how explicit I'm going to make things I felt it was better to have a too high of rating than too low.


	3. Transplant Shock

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cole starts to settle into his new life, with a few bumps in the road.

A week had passed with the man, Cole had tried to fight him the first two days, but it was a futile struggle. In that time the ship had docked, been unloaded and the cargo including Cole had been transported inland to the man’s home. Cole found himself in a new cell, this one was slightly nicer than the other two; it was obviously meant for long term use. 

The man who had bought him was allowing him to walk again - which was a relief since the mans home was a mansion; crawling all over it would have been tedious at best. 

It appeared that the man had bought Cole as a labourer since as soon as they had arrived Cole had been put to work helping the gardener, an elderly man that struggled to lift heavy objects, and suffered from arthritis. This man - who introduced himself as Gus had told Cole that the master kept him around because Gus knew more about plants and their care then any other slave. 

Gus’s advice to Cole was to learn something useful that wouldn’t fade with age. Cole had noticed that Gus was spending any spare time they had quizzing Cole on the things that they’d done that day. The man was obviously trying to pass on his knowledge to Cole. Cole tried to pay attention, not so much for his sake but because on the first day when he hadn’t Gus had a disappointed look on his face. Cole could be a jackass, but he wasn’t going to be one to an elderly man that was forced to be there just like him. 

It was the same reason that Cole did everything Gus asked of him without protest. Gus wasn’t their captor; - who Cole had learned from Gus was a man called Lord Grey - Gus was just another victim that would suffer if Cole misbehaved. 

Cole was informed that if he tried to leave the property boundaries the device on his wrist would cripple him from pain till he passed out. He figured there was no point in trying to run away at the moment. There was little chance of success and a high likely hood that Gus would get punished for not stopping Cole. 

Cole had considered the pros and cons of cutting off his own hand, but before he’d had a chance to give it proper consideration Gus had informed Cole (before handing him any sharp objects) that the collar around his neck acted as a back up – though it would only activate if the bracelet was removed. This removed all thoughts of removing his hand, there was no point in permanently maiming himself if it wouldn’t get him anywhere. 

If Cole was honest, he didn’t mind the tasks he was doing with Gus. The work was pleasant, and Gus had a certain way of talking to Cole that soothed his anger and hurt pride. Gus had been very understanding the first couple days, letting Cole sulk and only asking the bare minimum of him. After that Gus started his teaching in full, educating Cole about the needs of different plants, what fertilizers to use and how to look out for and treat potential problems that could affect a plant like aphids for example. 

Cole was enjoying the learning now that he’d stopped sulking, it may not be as exciting as participating in a heist or learning to pick a new lock but there was something wholesome and satisfying about seeing the plants benefit from his work. If not for the circumstances behind his presence here, he actually wouldn’t mind the work. 

Maybe when he got away and back to Wade, he’d try to see about picking up honest work. Cole might be able to convince the gang by arguing that it would give them a steady income. Maybe that way too for once Cole would be allowed to keep his earnings rather then turn them all over to Wade. Not to say Wade didn’t pay Cole, he did – just he decided how much Cole deserved. Cole understood it was to help motivate him to work harder and it was to the benefit of the gang so obviously Wade was right in his decision. Wade was always right; besides the man had cared for Cole and had shielded him from the other members in the gang. That couldn’t have been easy, so Cole didn’t begrudge the man for controlling how big of share Cole received. 

Another thing that struck Cole as strange was that the man who bought him would summon Cole every night to his private study and basically would pet Cole’s hair like that of a favoured hound. For the first three nights Lord Grey had chained Cole as he had on the ship. After that though the man just looked at Cole and told him that if he tried anything he’d be back to crawling everywhere. With that threat Cole to his own disgust stayed still without the chain tying him down. 

Cole was confused and worried by Lord Grey’s actions but so far he hadn’t tried anything untoward. Cole would fight him if he tried but so long as all the man wanted was brushing his fingers through Cole’s hair he wasn’t going to fight it. Admittedly his hair was pretty long, it was down to about his ears - Wade was going to cut it for him actually but they hadn’t gotten around to it yet. Hair wasn’t exactly a priority for Cole and Wade. 

It was two weeks into his stay when he was summoned by the Master as usual. Cole hated to admit how little he was fighting the man. He never tried attacking the man physically after the first few days, but he did try with his words every so often; but that always resulted in a quick punishment. Cole had figured out that Lord Grey preferred to use a whip for minor infractions. Cole was little bit more loose-tonged due to this then if the man had used shocks every time. He could take a beating more easily then being fried. 

Once Cole had gained the man’s permission to enter the room Cole walked over to the spot by the chair and knelt down as he had the previous nights. Lord Grey smiled, Cole wouldn’t call it a nice smile but it wasn’t sinister either. 

“There’s a box on the floor in front of you – open it” Lord Grey commanded. 

Cole picked up the box bringing it a bit closer, he opened the lid not sure what to expect. Laying there was a leather collar with the man’s coat of arms pressed decoratively into the leather. Cole looked at Lord Grey uncertain as to what this meant. 

“Well what do you say after receiving a gift?” the man asked clearly enjoying Cole’s reactions. 

Cole’s lip curled in disgust, he was so fed up being treated this way. Of being viewed on the same level as a favoured hound. “Oh it’s just lovely, exactly what I want” Cole said sarcastically. 

Cole felt his cheek sting right after. Surprise followed, the man had never used his hands to hit Cole before. Lord Grey stood up amusement still on his face but there was an undertone there, a threat telling Cole that if he didn’t apologize quickly, he’d regret it. 

But when did Cole ever listen to to things like that. “I don’t know what you want – you’re a fucking bastard! Why would I be grateful for something that reminds me of how you own me – you fucking asshole!” Cole screamed.

Cole was expecting the whip – he was not expecting the shocks that came. Cole ended up curled in a ball begging for the man to stop – he did but only for a few moments before the whip came down on his shoulders. He lost count of how many times the man hit him just aware of another shock jolting through his body before he blacked out. 

As Cole came to he observed that he was still in Lord Grey’s room. Speaking of the devil, he was sitting at his desk working on something. Cole lay where he was focusing on breathing in an out, it didn’t hurt as much as he thought it would oddly enough. That’s when the man looked up and caught sight of Cole awake. 

“Good you’re up, I had the medic check you for any damage from your shock bracelet, there was nothing permanent but that’s what caused you to pass out. I decided that since the number of shocks I gave you was a bit excessive I allowed the medic to heal the lesions on your back and put a healing cream on you. It has a temporary numbing agent in it. It’ll hurt more when the anti-pain drug wears off but that will just be a reminder to you not to disrespect me. Now come over here”. The man said this as if discussing the weather, oh how generous of him to heal Cole after beating him, Cole held in a derisive snort. 

Despite the man not have asked Cole to crawl to him - he did it as a precaution, the beating still very fresh in his mind. It also concerned Cole that the man had a healer in his employ that would allow Grey to cut Cole open and then heal the skin as if nothing happened. Though healing magic wasn’t rare per say it wasn’t normal and that level of ability really wasn’t normal. Most could only heal minor cuts and scraps, help ease childbirth, things like that, not fix the damage from a beating that made Cole pass out. 

“Good boy, now turn around” the man said with a smile, like as though he hadn’t just beaten Cole till he’d passed out

Cole felt the tension in his body building not sure as to what the man was planning. To his surprise he felt the metal collar he was wearing fall off of his neck and into his lap. He stayed absolutely stock still, oddly nervous. He then felt what he assumed was the leather collar being fastened around his neck. The man then pointed to a mirror that had been set up on the floor. 

“Have a look, don’t you like your new present?” the man questioned, the answer he wanted was apparent. 

With the beating fresh in his mind. Cole nodded and then added in a soft voice “Yes Master, it’s very nice thank you”.

The man smiled “now was that so hard, I was being considerate and yet you had to be naughty” The man shook his head as though amused. 

The man got up and walked over to his reading chair. “Come here boy, since you’re so tired I’m going to let you lean on my legs.” 

Cole balked slightly at the thought but easily picked up on that this was a command. Cole crawled over to the man still nervous about walking, he put himself so that his shoulders were touching the mans legs.

“Isn’t this nice” the man said looking at Cole expectantly. 

“Yes master, thank you master” Cole said softly. He wasn’t broken not by a long shot but he really did not desire adding on to the bruises that he’d collected tonight. 

“Just so you know boy, if you try to remove that collar it will shock you. The lock will only come off at the touch of a select few.”

Cole wasn’t sure as to how to reply to this, so he stayed silent, it wasn’t as though that was any different from the metal one besides having a visible clasp. Cole wasn’t sure how long he sat there being pet by the man, it ended up with Cole allowing his head to rest against the man’s leg right above the knee. In all honesty Cole was tired and if he could rest in the guise of following orders he’d take it. 

Cole trudged back to his cell starting to wince as the anti-pain drug was wearing off. Cole entered his cell, the door shut behind him. It would automatically open in the morning when it was time for him to work. 

In the morning as Cole got ready to go help Gus, he could feel his back screaming from the beating, the healer may have healed the open wounds, but it still felt like a giant bruise. Maybe that healer wasn’t as skilled as he thought, or the healer was even more skilled and only healed him to the exact degree Grey had allowed him to deliberately leaving the bruises. Now that was a terrify thought, best to focus on the work at hand. 

Gus gave Cole a sympathetic look. Cole wasn’t sure how he’d heard about it but obviously he had. “I was with the medic when the Master called for you to be helped. You’re a lucky boy a lot of other masters would have hurt you a lot worse.”

Cole looked up at Gus in surprise “What do you mean by that?”

“Well Cole, I know you’re new to this life and have nothing to compare against but I’ve had six different masters and I’ll take this one any day. Most would have culled me by now, even with my gardening skills, due to my lack of physical capabilities. Instead Master allows me to visit the medic any time I need to and he’s provided me with help – I suspect that’s the reason he bought you Cole. You’re a strong lad that much would have been apparent at the auction.” 

“Now I don’t know what you said to the Master to get him so riled up but this is one of the worst beatings I’ve seen him dole out in about the past year or so. Consider this - the beating you’re feeling is one of the worst the Master has given in a long time; whereas for other masters I’ve had it would be a typical weekly beating. As far as Masters go boy you’ve lucked out.” 

Gus looked at Cole there was sadness in his eyes but there was a strength in them as well; he wanted Cole to understand how lucky he was that he was bought by a man that only wanted him for physical labour and as a companion, who wasn’t quick to beat his slaves for the slightest infractions, provided full meals, health care and clean housing. Gus did know that the Master was being stricter with Cole then he was with a slave he acquired from another household. 

Cole sighed “I think I understand you Gus, I’ll try not to anger the man too much – it’s just I don’t want to be here owned by anyone – I want to go back to the life I had before”

“I know boy; I know but you can’t so you gotta work with the hand you’ve been dealt. Now come on the vegetable garden is starting to look full of weeds, we should get that done now.” 

Cole smiled grateful for Gus’s choice of work it wouldn’t irritate his back as much as some other chores might. 

Another few weeks passed with Cole falling into a routine. If he was honest he did actually prefer the leather collar, especially when Gus explained the reason for the leather. Apparently when Gus had first arrived he’d ended up going to the medic due to the sores his metal collar was leaving. Working in the garden meant that he ended up with more dirt and sweat under it then some of the other slaves. 

After being informed about this the master had gotten a collar for Gus made out of leather. Gus was allowed by the master to remove both his own and Coles collar. Gus would do so for Cole to allow him to take it off in the shower and to clean it. That’s why it had a buckle rather then magical never-ending seal on the metal one that revealed no beginning or end. 

Even if Cole did prefer the leather, the man was still a bastard for presenting it to Cole in such a way. Cole was willing to forgive most of it as the leather was more breathable and didn’t trap the sweat and dirt as much as the metal did it was also a luxurious feeling to be able to take a shower without the collar on his neck. 

Grey had warned Cole that should he decided to try and over power Gus after the collar was removed and try escape that even should he get the bracelet off and have a successful escape, Grey would have Gus be put to death for allowing Cole to escape. Cole didn’t know how valuable Grey viewed Gus, so he didn’t want to have his own freedom at the cost of Gus’s life. 

Grey still summoned Cole every night, they had progressed beyond the man just petting Cole to the man asking about Cole and his day. It had started since Lord Grey was curious as to the faint scars on Cole that the healer had pointed out when he’d come to treat Cole. Cole had given Grey half truths; he’d told him that he was a street kid growing up and that for street kids such scars were normal. He admitted to pick pocketing and to stealing fruit, bread and other such items from merchants tables but not to any crime bigger then petty theft. Oddly Grey seemed fascinated rather then angry or upset. 

After having heard something about Coles past, or just his day in general Lord Grey would tell Cole a little about his day, ranting about one noble or another. Or explain to Cole the complications that came with a treaty or trade agreement that the man was helping to write. Apparently, Lord Grey often advised the royal family on such things.

Cole was slowly starting to relax with the man; he didn’t trust him by any means, but Cole found him predictable most of the time. This made it easier for Cole to read the man and respond accordingly. It was definitely a easy task when compared having to navigate and react to all of the personalities in the gang. Sure, Cole knew which guys were the most likely to lose their temper easily, but you never knew what had happened that day that might set them off. If Cole back talked or was a bit too pushy it could be the thing that set them off. Cole would be careful when he took note of high tension to not aggravate anyone. 

Still even with being careful about a quarter of the gang members were liable to take their frustrations out on Cole even if he’d done nothing to aggravate them. He just existed. Those members were also very creative in how they hurt Cole, knowing that Wade would be upset by more then bruises they’d give Cole chores that were gross, pointless or take forever. Well Cole was completing them; they’d stand over him lording their power.

In comparison Cole didn’t have to tip toe around Lord Grey anywhere as much, the man had never beaten Cole when he was frustrated by something else. The man had only ever hurt Cole when he was misbehaving in some fashion. It was a confusing experience for Cole to realize that he relaxed more with Lord Grey then he did with the gang. He only ever really relaxed this much with Wade.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay, a update. I should be writing essays but I'm not so.......... lets not think about that. 
> 
> Thank you to everyone who left a kudos, and to Ananim160 and Jamie for the reviews it helped motivate me finish editing this chapter.


	4. Tea anyone?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just a little garden party, nothing special ;)

It was about a month and a half before Cole met anyone outside of Lord Grey’s household. It ended up being at a garden party that Lord Grey was hosting. 

A richly dressed man walked into the garden with a frail and frighten looking slave following behind him. As soon as Gus saw the man, he grabbed Cole’s arm and pulled him down. Gus fell to his knees and bowed his head. Cole followed suit, annoyed but he’d been here long enough to know to follow Gus’s lead without question. 

The man sneered at them. “Old slave where is the new gazebo by the pond? Your master suggested that I would enjoy it out there.”

Cole could feel Gus trembling in front of this man “My Lord, it is just down the path you are on and down the next turn to the right” 

The man sneered at him again “Old salve show me where, the other slave will take my slave to get refreshments.”

A stupid idea popped into Cole’s head but there was no way that Cole was going to leave Gus alone with this man that he was clearly terrified of – time to put on his best submissive slave act. 

“Begging your pardon my lord but it would be preferable if I could show you where the pond is – I’m new and I don’t know my way around my masters’ home; I’d hate to accidentally mislead your slave in search of refreshments.” 

Cole saw the man raise his cane before he felt the blow. This gave Cole time to brace for the blow. The man followed up with another wack and then looked down at Cole, disdain clear on his face “Fine, useless slave you will show me where the gazebo by the pond is.” 

Cole felt that his temper was close to reaching a boiling point, but the relief and worry in Gus’s eyes helped Cole to maintain his control. Despite every instinct screaming at Cole to just grab the cane and attack. 

“Let’s go slave” demanded the man. Cole started to get up but then the lord swung his cane hitting Cole’s back pushing him down and back to the ground. 

“Did I say you could stand slave?” Cole saw both Gus and the other man flinch softly. 

“I am sorry my lord; how would you like for me to show you to your destination?” asked Cole though gritted teeth, still trying playing the part of a meek, submissive slave, but the sarcasm was starting to leak through. Thankfully the man didn’t seem to notice. 

“Crawl” the man said cruelly. Then he glanced over at the other two “What are you still doing here?” the man’s voice was icy cold, but he was obviously taking pleasure in how both slaves jumped and rushed to do as told. Profusely apologizing as they left. 

Cole sighed softly, oh well at least the ground was dry. Cole crawled in front of the man, luckily the gazebo he was speaking of was close by so Cole didn’t have to crawl for long. 

The man walked up and into the gazebo, sitting down in one of the chairs. Gesturing to the spot beside the chair the man waved his hand at Cole and said, “Come here slave.”

Cole crawled up to him wondering just how far this man would push him and how far Lord Grey would want him to go. Cole supposed that so long as the man did not ask for anything sexual or something that would cause Cole harm it was easier to play along. 

Cole sat there besides the man waiting for orders of any kind to be issued but for now the man seemed content to sit in silence.

“Tell me slave, are you just a pretty face or do you actually have a purpose here?” The man asked out of the blue. 

“I am a labour my lord, in training to be a gardener so that I can be useful to my master” Cole replied wondering where this line of questioning was going. 

“Is that all?” the man questioned. 

“Yes, my lord” Cole replied figuring that Lord Grey wouldn’t want others knowing about the fact that he ranted about the other lords and various political issues to Cole. 

“That’s too bad with that pretty face of yours you’d make a lovely personal attendant & pleasure slave. Perhaps I’ll put in an offer on you.” The man spoke of this as though he was speaking of the weather. “What do you think of that slave?” 

Over his dead body Cole thought but instead replied “It is not for me to think but to leave that to my master; it is up to him” bleh, ug, saying that hurt Cole but it was better then the alternative. 

Even though Lord Grey didn’t seem to mind, and even sometimes appeared to be amused by Cole’s minor misbehaviours Cole shudder to think of what the man would do to him if he misbehaved in front of a guest. 

The man smiled and reached out and stroked Cole’s head, though it was different from Lord Grey's; Cole could feel the intent of this man. Cole prayed that he wouldn’t try to do anymore then this. If he tried more than this Cole would end up finding out what the punishment for breaking a guest’s hand was. 

The man motioned for Cole to come closer. Cole shuffled a bit closer so that he was within easy touching distance, fear and adrenaline racing through his body. But the man seemed content for now just stroking Cole’s head, occasionally tracing his hand down Cole’s back. This resulted in Cole stiffening even more. 

The man laughed, for once it was without a derisive tone, “Relax slave, I won’t touch you without your masters’ permission or him selling you to me”. Cole wanted to point out that the man was touching him right now, but Cole knew what the man was referring to. It made Cole relax a few increments knowing that for at least right now the man wouldn’t try anything further then this. 

Gus and the man’s slave approached with refreshments in hand; it looked like they had a pitcher of lemonade, and a basket of assorted pastries with them. 

The man placed his hand on Cole’s neck, the message was clear that he was not allowed to get up yet. 

Gus was attempting to discreetly check Cole, trying to see if there was any significant damage. Gus knelt after placing the basket of treats on the table. The man’s slave also knelt after placing the lemonade and glass on the table. 

“You’re dismissed” the man said to Gus. Gus looked like he wanted to protest but instead bowed his head and said, “Yes my lord.”

“What are you doing you useless slave, why are you not pouring my drink” snarled the man at his slave. The sudden change in temperament unsettled Cole but the man’s hand was still on him indicating that he wasn’t allowed to leave yet. The man’s slave scrambled to do as told. 

Cole sat there uncomfortably as the man resumed stoking him, mostly focused on playing with his hair. Why did everyone seem to want to play with his hair? Sure, it was longer than the average guy’s, but Cole didn’t think it was anything that special. Though he supposed that girls always complemented his hair when they went on dates. The girls always wanted to know what products he used to get it nice. They were always so disappointed when Cole told them that he just used regular old soap and water. 

Cole had just started to relax by a margin when disaster struck. As the man’s slave was topping up his masters’ drink, his shaking hands resulting in him spilling some of the drink. Some spilt onto the table, but some also spilt onto the man. 

The man rose quickly, back handing the slave. Cole winced as he saw the slave’s head snap back. The man then grabbed the slave and hurled him out of the gazebo, “I’m tired of your failure go help the old slave at least then you might be of some use” the man snarled, his anger palpable. The slave scrambled off leaving Cole alone with the man again. 

While the man had been distracted with the slave Cole had gotten up and was using some napkins from the basket to clean the spill from the table. He froze as the man observed him, with a deadly calm voice the man asked “Did I give you permission to move?” 

“No my lord I’m sorry my lord, I assumed – I’m sorry my lord” Cole stammered out, cutting himself off, guessing that this man would not want to hear excuses only apologies. The man narrowed his eyes at Cole, Cole saw the slap coming and braced himself. “I’m sorry my lord” Cole apologized once more, wanting nothing more them to leave this volatile man’s presence. The man’s hair-trigger temper was reminding Cole of a few of the more unpleasant gang members that he hadn’t had to think about since coming to Lord Grey’s manor. 

“Finish cleaning and then sit back down” the man ordered Cole. 

Cole finished what he was doing and then sat back down beside the man. They sat in silence again as the man observed the view out of the gazebo and absentmindedly continued to stroke Cole’s head. 

Cole sighed softly wondering how long he was going to be stuck sitting besides this man, when a familiar figure approached the gazebo. It was Lord Grey, thankfully. 

Lord Grey entered, “Lord Fen, I see that you have met my latest acquisition” 

Lord Fen - that was interesting Cole thought; from his nights with Grey he knew a bit about Lord Fen. Lord Fen was a good friend of Grey’s; despite the man being significantly younger than Lord Grey. They also often had differing political opinions, but Cole knew that despite Lord Grey often disapproving of Lord Fen’s actions, he viewed the younger man similar to that of an errant little brother. This was good to know and even better now that Cole hadn’t broken the lord’s hand when he’d wanted to. 

Lord Fen nodded to Lord Grey “Yes, he’s quite pleasant in comparison to my current stock. Would you be interested in selling him?” 

“Not for now. Thank you for the offer though” Lord Grey replied looking unfazed by the question. 

Lord Grey then turned to Cole “Boy go let the gardener know that I would like more refreshments brought out here along with two fresh glasses”. 

Cole was delighted with the excuse to leave, even if it was only for a short period. “Yes Master” Cole replied crawling forward so that he could stand without being in the personal bubbles of either man. He then bowed to each man and left grateful for the reprieve. 

As Cole was walking back to where he’d been with Gus earlier, a girl approached him. If Cole were to hazard a guess, he’d say she looked to be in her mid to late teens. Since she was dressed fancy Cole fell to his knees like he’d done for Lord Fen earlier. 

“Slave I require you to come with me” the girl said in a snobbish tone. 

“I’m sorry my lady but my master has given me an errand I must complete first” Mostly Cole just wanted an excuse to leave, the less he had to interact with nobility the better. 

“I’m sure that can wait” the girl snapped then she turned to him with what he guessed was supposed to be a seductive look? “besides gardener my personal garden is unattended, and I need you to tend to it” 

Cole had to hold back a cringe and repeated “I’m sorry my lady but I must complete the task for my master”. There was absolutely no way in all hell he was going to sleep with this girl. Not only was she way too young, and he wasn’t attracted to her but even if she was his age and an absolute goddess of a woman, thinking about sex was what got him in this situation in the first place. Besides who knew what the nobles would do to him if they found out. 

The girl let out a girlish high-pitched whine and told Cole “You will come with me and you will sleep with me! You are a slave you must do as I want!”

“I am sorry my lady, but I can not” Cole replied staying firm in his stance. 

The girl started to aggressively approach Cole; he scrambled backwards, not wanting to let her touch him. This resulted in Cole tripping over himself flipping onto his back. Oh, if only Wade could see him now, most likely Cole would be completing an obstacle course blindfolded for his clumsiness. Still Cole figured any punishment for moving away and refusing to follow orders would be a lot better than a punishment for sleeping with this spoiled brat. 

The girl gave a scream out in frustration. The issue with this is that it caught the attention of the other guest who rushed over to see what was wrong. This include Lord Grey and Lord Fen. 

Seeing the others approach the girl huffed vindictively “You deserve a harsh punishment for this, you should have just listened to me”. 

As the others approached the girl started to sob “This scary slave made advances towards me and to-to get him to stop I had to push him away – see” she said starting to wail, while gesturing at Cole. Cole was currently on the ground having fallen in a weird position as he tried to get away from her. 

Cole stayed on the ground waiting to see what happened, he could hear the nobles angrily muttering to each other about what should be done. 

Lord Grey approached Cole and announced “If these accusations are true then it is a serious crime. Boy what have you to say for yourself?”

Cole had arranged himself back into a kneeling position, he thought it best to look presentable. Fuck, now he had to pull out a perfect slave act, thinking back to all the advice the others had given him when he’d first arrived and before the party Cole started to plead his case. “Master I swear I didn’t proposition her, there must have been a misunderstanding master – I swear I would not disrespect you in that manner” - Cole had heard a gang member say that to Wade once when he’d been accused of stealing from Wade. Cole was also trying to avoid lay blame on the noble’s feet so that she could just say yes it was a misunderstanding and move on from there. 

Lord Grey considered the words the boy was saying, in all honesty he believed Cole, but he could not just take the word of a slave’s over that of a noble’s it would cause quite a fuss and a headache for him. 

As Lord Grey was considering Cole’s words the girl’s father walked up and got caught up to speed. 

“Lord Grey I demand you have this slave tied up and lashed here and now – at least 30 lashes minimum, and then castrated” Demanded the Lord Malcom. 

Well this complicated things - Lord Grey had been considering saying that he would punish the boy later and then conveniently forget to do it, but now the girl’s father was demanding immediate action. 

“I can not in good conscience dole out that harsh of punishment when we do know the full story. The lad is a foreigner. It might be a misunderstanding, a cultural difference that the boy had no knowledge of. – I know we shall review the security orbs together. I have one stationed near enough that we should have both visual and audio.” Lord Grey announced. 

Lord Grey observed that Miss Malcom became tense at these words and Cole’s shoulders relaxed slightly. Yes, he was confident in this decision. Lord Grey pulled off one of his rings and laid it on the ground. It was the object that the observation spell was tied to, it could be any object really, but a ring was the most convenient for him to carry around. Lord Grey then said, “Project imaging from security orb 34G, start the footage from 15 minutes ago”. 

Miss Malcom started to protest saying that there was no need for this, but her father shushed her saying that they needed to see the extent of the damage to design an appropriate punishment. 

Lord Grey and several his guests watched as Miss Malcom approached Cole and rather than him propositioning her, she propositioned him. 

Lord Grey raised an eyebrow at Lord Malcom, seeing the man’s face turn red. Just then Lord Fen started to laugh and walked over to Cole and pet the boy’s head. “Well Lord Malcom it appears that your daughter is not only a liar but a little tart” Lord Fen taunted, continuing to laugh as he said this. Grey watched thinking that Fen really should be a little bit more careful about offending the other nobles; but then again Fen was an old and powerful noble house, whereas Malcom was a fairly new one with considerably less power in comparison. 

Lord Malcom turned an even darker shade of red, “Yes well Lord Grey it has been a lovely party but I think its time for my family and I to retire” Lord Malcom proclaimed grabbing onto his daughter, ignoring the comment that Lord Fen had made. Who happened to still be stroking Cole’s hair. 

Cole, to his own embarrassment found the familiar action soothing. Cole leaned into Lord Fen’s hand as the man pet him, soaking up the attention. He hated to admit it, but he did find the touch calming; Lord Grey never pet Cole when he was upset with Cole. As such even though the touch was coming from some else the action was still a reassuring one. It let him know that he wasn’t in trouble and therefor wasn’t going to be castrated. A whipping well highly unpleasant was tolerable but castration was a horrifying prospect that Cole felt a little woozy thinking about. For now, Cole would take the affection shown to him gratefully. 

Lord Grey nodded to Malcom and then turned to his guests gesturing for the servers to mingle, “Well after that bit of excitement a drink would be nice”. The guests gave a chuckle and started to socialize again but this time with a new scandal to gossip about. 

After his guest were occupied Lord Grey walked over to Cole, who was still kneeling on the ground with Lord Fen continuing to stroke the boy’s head. 

“Good boy, you did exactly what you should have. Now don’t you have a job to be doing?” Lord Grey asked. 

“Yes Master” Cole said, his voice small and quiet, still clearly shaken. 

“You sure you won’t sell him to me? He’s certainty entertaining.” Asked Lord Fen. 

Lord Grey rolled his eyes, careful that only Lord Fen could see “Yes I’m sure. You’d shatter him into a million pieces till he was no longer useful.” 

Lord Fen shrugged not really seeing the problem with this. If one slave broke beyond repair, then you simply bought a replacement. 

After the party had ended, Cole went to Master Grey’s rooms as usual. For some reason he was looking forward to it. In the past few weeks Cole hadn’t exactly dreaded going, but he’d never been looking forward to the time he spent with the man before. 

Kneeling by his master Cole couldn’t help but feel grateful towards the man for saving him today. From observing how the other lords treated their slaves, Cole figured Gus was accurate in his statement of Grey being lenient in comparison. Cole was also willing to bet that a lot of the other nobles wouldn’t have bothered to check the story of the girl before administering a punishment. Cole felt sorry for any slave working in the Malcom Household with those two around. 

Lord Grey stroked Cole’s hair as usual, running his finger through the now rather long locks. “You know boy; I’ve been thinking that since you did well today you deserve a reward. I think it’s time to move you out of your cell and into the slave’s quarters. You won’t try to take advantage of this privilege, now would you?” 

“No master, I don’t want to displease you master. I want to show you how grateful I am to you master.” Cole replied and in that moment his words rang true. Cole truly was grateful to the man and wanted to live up to his expectations. 

Lord Grey chuckled “You’re a good lad, I know you won’t betray my trust. I had you placed in the same room as Gus. Since you two work together you should get along well enough. Gus will let you know the rules that come with having a room.” 

“Thank you Master, I appreciate your thoughtfulness.” Cole replied as was expected of him. Though he actually was glad that he was given Gus as a roommate, though he hoped that the man wouldn’t mind. 

After Cole had chatted with the master that night, though it was more subdued then normal – the Master released Cole and told him where to go to find his new quarters. 

Cole walked until he found the rooms. Taking note of the guard stationed by the entrance to the dorm area. Cole knocked softly on the door – “Enter”, came Gus’s voice. 

“Cole” Gus said with a grandfatherly smile. “I’m so glad that Master has decided to trust you and have us room together. I know that you’re tired so I’ll keep this brief. Firstly, this is your room too, so you don’t need to knock. 

As for the rules that come with a room it’s pretty simple, after work hours you can’t leave this hallway. If you try a guard will stop you and depending on the reason it could result in punishment. In this hall there are two other bedrooms, each with two occupants so we share the bathroom with them. The bathroom is at the end of the hall so you can leave this room freely at any time to use it. The manor was set up so that the slave quarters have one bathroom per every six occupants, so you don’t have to worry too much about it being occupied when you need it. 

You’re not allowed in the other slave’s rooms without permission, as they are not allowed in ours. There are no locks on the doors, but they do latch closed. So you don’t have to worry about accidentally opening a closed door. The fifth room is a rec room, it has a small library, a few bored games and some lounge spots, feel free to use anything in the room. You can make friends and hang out with the others but do not start a romantic relationship with anyone without seeking permission from the master. Lastly and most importantly don’t try to use the extra freedom you’ve been given to try and run away. The master is trusting you and if you can not handle the freedom he gives then you’ll be back to spending your days in the cages. I really wold prefer to not see you have to go back there.” Gus ended the talk with a serious look. 

“Thank you, Gus and don’t worry I won’t throw the master’s generosity back at him, and more importantly I promise I won’t disappoint you.” 

Gus reached out and gave Cole’s shoulder a reassuring squeeze “I know you won’t Cole, I know you won’t”. 

“You know Gus until today I didn’t realize just how right you were about our Master being a good Master. I realize now that I should appreciate that I’m in his service and not another’s. I- I want to serve him well. Gus will you please teach me more, so I become more skilled.” 

Gus gave Cole a delighted smile. “Cole I’m so glad, I love teaching you. I hope that when I pass on you will have learned all that I know and then hopefully the Master will treat you the same as he has me.”

“Now let’s go to bed so that we can both work hard in the morning, sleep well” Gus told Cole giving him a friendly clasp on the shoulder before walking to his bed. 

“Okay goodnight Gus” Cole said as he changed into pjs and crawled into bed. Cole lay there tossing and turning, feeling restless. His sleep was thwarted by an odd, uncomfortable feeling washing over him. Cole couldn’t quiet identify it, so he shoved it away just trying to focus on sleep. Praying that Morpheus would visit him soon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'll be honest I wasn't planning on posting this so soon. I really didn't expect to have edited it so quickly but procrastination is a powerful thing. 
> 
> Thank you Ananim160 and TheMemsahib for the lovely comments, and thank you to everyone else who left a kudos, I appreciate them :)


	5. From one hell to another

About two weeks had passed since the fiasco at the party, apparently Lord Malcom was keeping his daughter under a very close watch and was being accompanied by chaperones at all times. In that time Cole had seen more and more of Lord Fen. 

Lord Fen still made Cole nervous – though he trusted that so long as he belonged to Lord Grey Lord Fen probably wouldn’t do more then stroke his head and give him the occasional slap if he felt that Cole wasn’t responding to the situation properly – the man was still very volatile. 

This not only tested Cole’s patience but his ability to obey without lashing out. Cole felt very proud of himself for not breaking any of the man’s bones. However, nothing the man had done so far had been worth the punishment Cole would receive for breaking Fen’s hand. 

Cole had asked Gus about his reaction to Lord Fen once as they were in the garden afterwards. 

“Gus why does Lord Fen terrify you? I mean he’s not the nicest, but he probably won’t do any lasting damage due to us belonging to Lord Grey.” 

“Ay you’re right about that boy but I told ya I belonged to others before Master Grey, and one of them was Lord Fen. He restrains himself here because he knows that Master disapproves of beating a salve for every minor infraction. At the same time Cole, you’ve interacted with the man enough you know his expectations aren’t always clear. It makes it hard to please a master when they won’t make it clear what they expect of ya.”

“That’s true Gus – I’m – I’m actually - well out of all of the options out there – I’m a bit glad that it was Master Grey who bought me.”

“As you should be boy, Master Grey’s definitely much better than most – he doesn’t take out his frustration on us, or give us impossible tasks just to watch us fail – hell even the collars we wear show that he gives a damn.” 

“Gus can I ask you something” Cole questioned. 

“Of course.” 

“Lord Fen keeps offering to buy me; especially after what you said, that makes me nervous. He has made it clear that he’d want me for more then a laborer. Do you think Master is likely to take him up on his offer?” Cole asked curious as to what Gus would think of the situation. Depending Gus’s answer Cole might just have to break one of Fen’s bones just to make himself less attractive. 

“I find it unlikely lad, though Lord Grey and Lord Fen have been friends for many years, they don’t see eye to eye when it comes to the treatment of slaves. Lord Fen sees a slave as only having value well they are what he wants. He doesn’t particularly take good care of his slaves and if they don’t meet his expectations then he discards them.” 

Gus trailed off and looked at Cole “Maybe this will help make it clear. When master Fen owned me, I tried my best for him, but at that point I was already past the prime of my life. Master Fen had acquired me at a poker game and as such he did not actually want me. 

I served him as a gardener as well as I could, but nothing seemed to please him. I was with him for a few months when he decided to cull me, tired of how my aging body was limiting the work I could accomplish. I was very lucky since the day master Fen decided this Master Grey was over visiting. When master Fen told Master Grey of his decision the Master said that if Lord Fen was going to kill me anyway then to sell me to him. 

“Master Grey already knew I was a gardener and his last gardener had recently passed from old age. Master Fen was confused but he sold me to Master Grey. Not only did Master Grey save my life but he treats me really well; this is the best treatment I’ve ever received in my life as a slave. I think that even if I weren’t a slave, I would still want to serve Master Grey.” Gus looked at Cole with a ton of emotions swirling in his eyes. 

“Thank you for telling me Gus. I think I understand what you’re saying.” Cole replied, he could see how Gus truly loved Lord Grey, and why not the man had literally saved Gus’s life. 

“Now that’s enough of that, let’s get back to work” Gus said a bit gruff ending the conversation. Cole nodded and walked back to where he’d be working, leaving Gus alone since the man clearly needed some time. 

Cole mussed silently, he supposed overall - despite how disapproving Wade and the others in the gang would be in Cole, - he truly didn’t mind it here. If he was honest, only having to be concerned about pleasing Lord Grey was pretty similar to being in the gang and having to please Wade. 

That was a bitter thought for Cole - that it was easier to please Lord Grey than Wade. It was slowly becoming an unpleasant thought that tormented Cole’s brain, something that Cole doubted he would ever admit out loud and only barely acknowledged even in the deepest depths of his mind. 

Wade was a quiet man, Cole honestly idolized him and viewed him as a father; but the longer Cole was here, the longer he was forced to confront the fact that he was being beaten less here as a slave than he been free as a part of the gang. When Cole got a punishment from Wade the man would always look at Cole with such disappointment. Wade’s eyes pleading with Cole, asking why oh why couldn’t Cole just fit in with the gang and stop causing trouble?

Oh, why couldn’t Cole’s mind stop confronting him with unpleasant truths, it reminded him of how Lord Grey had believed Cole – a fucking SLAVE – instead of a noble. Grey had bothered to check that the accusation was true before punishing Cole. So many times, in the past Wade had punished Cole, made an example of him, humiliated him in front of the gang for it only to be proven that Cole wasn’t at fault or he was innocent later on. All just to show the other gang members that Wade wasn’t weak, he wouldn’t take it easy on a kid, even when he was the one raising said kid. 

Cole felt the tears slide down his face and angrily wiped them away. They were tears of anger and frustration. Tears of sorrow, of past pain. Cole felt the anger inside burning up, Cole pushed it away, locked it down tight. Usually he’d just go pick a fight when he was feeling this type of anger but there was no one to pick a fight with and harsher consequences than a night in jail for loosing control. 

Besides, it wasn’t like Wade had ever really hurt Cole, - that was the other gang members. But oh boy could Wade humiliate him with things like spanking him in front of the gang, making him wear a girls dress to distract a guard on the next heist or other degrading acts that would be more mentally scaring than physically. 

Wade one time made Cole clean and care for all of the other gang members boots for a week, it was for some made up offense Dan and Amos had come up with. Cole had been sick and feverish during a heist and still had managed to pull it off, but that had impressed Wade, making those two chuckleheads jealous. As such they felt the need to show their superiority. Sadly, they were some of the smarter gang members and as such they figured why risk beating Cole when they could just get Wade to punish him. Cole still wasn’t sure what they had accused him of, or if he’d been told he’d forgotten since he’d been 14 at the time. 

But Wade who was originally uncertain at punishing Cole for the offense had immediately lashed out when Amos had slyly asked if Wade was being sympathetic and letting Cole off the hook due to him being sick. Rather than even asking Cole about the supposed offense the man had snapped that Cole had better make up for it by cleaning every member’s boots. No magical items allowed. Cole still hated polishing a pair of boots due to that incident. 

Still Cole supposed his punishment would have only been a day or two if he hadn’t then tried to argue his case to Wade. Wade had taken great offense at a fourteen-year-old trying to talk back and had extended the punishment to a week. Cole was pretty damn certain that the gang members had deliberately stepped in the most disgusting things they could find that week just so that they could laugh at him struggling to get the boots clean again. The only comfort Cole had received that week was from Wade, the man had kept his boots pretty clean for Cole and had even given his shoulder a supportive squeeze on occasion while Cole had been working away. From Wade that was a lot; maybe the man had even been trying to relay his regret? That’s certainly how Cole had taken it as a child.

Really though Cole reasoned Wade wouldn’t have been so angry if Cole hadn’t tried to challenge the man’s authority. It had just hurt so much that the man wouldn’t even ask Cole for his side of events before doling out a punishment. It wasn’t until Cole was sixteen that Wade had started to allow Cole to tell his side of the story. Cole had been overjoyed the first time Wade had allowed that, Cole figured that maybe Wade was starting to see him as a man since Cole had never seen him completely disregard a gang members side of the story during the dispute the way he did to Cole. 

No, for the other members of the gang if there was a dispute Wade listened to both members and then either ruled in favour of one of them or decided to have them fight it out, usually till third blood. It was when Cole was sixteen that Wade asked Cole his side of the story and then decided for it to be a match to third blood to see who was in the right. Cole had won, and had been elated for the next week at least. 

It wasn’t much longer after that that Amos, the man Cole had fought with left the gang, the other members had been mercilessly teasing the man about loosing to Cole. After that event Wade would occasionally judge without asking for Cole’s side but more often than not he’d let Cole fight it out. Cole much preferred that method of solving things. Cole wasn’t sure what happened to Amos after that, it was a relief for Cole though since the man was not only one of Cole’s tormentors but one of the smarter ones that rarely ever got caught by Wade. 

Cole shook his head softly as though he could physically shake away the unpleasant memories. Cole sighed softly and figured the best thing would be to do what Gus had done and throw himself into his work for now. 

It was about a week after his talk with Gus that Lord Fen visited next. It was early morning and Cole had started his first task of the day – weeding (there’s always weeding) when he heard someone behind him. Cole didn’t pay it any mind since many of the residents’ occupants used that path. 

Cole continued on with the weeding until he felt a hand on his back, Cole jumped and turned around, only to see Lord Fen standing there laughing at him. “Boo” the man said, with a hint of mischievous glee shining in his eyes. 

Cole changed positions to bow to the man “How may I serve you my lord?” 

“Get refreshments and bring them to the library; your master and I are meeting there.” Lord Fen replied with a smirk. 

Cole stood up “Begging your pardon my lord but I am a gardener, I’m not suitable to be serving refreshments inside, perhaps one of the maids inside would be preferable” Cole said with gritted teeth. Annoyed at the man for interrupting his work when it was clearly just a ploy to mess with him. 

Lord Fen’s response to this was a slap to the face. “Boy don’t test me; just do as I say”  
“Yes, my Lord” Cole muttered still annoyed but leaving to do as the man said. 

Cole walked to the kitchen to only be dismayed when the cook, Martha, failed to believe his request “Boy if you think I’m going to let you trick me into giving you sweets you’ve got another thing coming – now scat get outa here!” she snarled looking at him with a disapproving glare. 

“I’m not lying I swear!” exclaimed Cole frustrated and concerned about Lord Fen getting impatient.

Cole could hear one of the servers that was in the kitchen snicker “He’s obviously lying, after all this low-class slave of no breeding isn’t worthy of serving things to our Master. Master would never use him for anything but hard labour” 

Cole glanced at the man who had spoken – It was Edwin, the man was also a slave but acted as though it was an honour to serve Lord Grey. Gus had told Cole that the man had been born a slave and his family had served the Grey’s for five generations. 

For some reason this made Edwin believe that he was better than any of the slaves that had a life before. Gus had also disclosed to Cole that Edwin was terribly jealous of the amount of attention Lord Grey was giving Cole. Cole had not thought much of it at the time, but it seemed as though Cole would have to watch his back around this man. 

“It weren’t Grey that requested me to serve it’ were Fen!” snarled Cole some of his frustration bleeding though. 

Martha gasped “That’s Master Grey and Lord Fen to you boy – I have half a mind to report you for that. Though I suppose it is plausible that Lord Fen would ask you since the Lord does like to keep us on our toes. Also, you need to work on your grammar boy, stop talking like some ally rat, I thought Gus was teaching you better” 

Cole blushed softly both anger and embarrassment flowed trough his body, it was true that along with teaching Cole how to garden Gus was helping Cole to improve his speech, apparently the lords found it distasteful. Cole didn’t think he was half bad besides Wade had educated him since it was useful for sneaking into fancier places but no one back home used it outside of such events so when frustrated or upset Cole would slip back into using the more familiar language rather than thinking about the words he was choosing. 

Edwin gave another snicker “Well I for one have no clue as to what Lord Fen would want with a low-class mutt that can’t even string a proper sentence together, but than again maybe he has no interest in what the mutt has to say.” With that Edwin gave Cole a lewd look, looking him up and down and flounced away almost as though floating. 

Cole glared at the man’s back for a moment but then quickly turned his attention to Martha as she gathered up both tea and cookies for him to take up. With another glare of disapproval Martha handed him the tray “Now don’t you dare drop anything boy, if you do, I’ll ask the master to have you scrubbing the floors with a toothbrush” 

Cole shrugged her off and did not respond he had heard worse from women at the market with keen eye’s that had identified him as a thief. 

Cole carried the tray which was heaped with sweets into the library. There Master Grey and Lord Fen were sitting discussing something, what Cole couldn’t tell from this distance. 

Cole walked over to the table awkwardly holding the heavy tray, nervous. (He’d been trained as a gardener not a server. Hell, if he knew what to do.) “Master, would you like refreshments?” asked Cole still nervous, yet wanting to be able to put down the tray. 

Master Grey looked up at Cole his eyes narrowed in displeasure “Boy why are you interrupting us? And besides the lack of manners what are you doing here and not in the gardens?”

Cole winced internally, Gray must have already been annoyed, the man usually had more patience then this. 

“I’m sorry master” Cole pleaded, placing the tray on the table, and then proceeded to fall to his knees, since that was always the safest bet. He’d never been punished for showing submission, but he had for not showing it. “I thought I was doing as asked of me. I’m sorry.” Cole added knowing he had done what Fen had asked but if he blamed the noble it would appear as though he was trying to shift the blame onto a man who society considered his better. 

It was times like these that Cole felt a strengthen of his will to find a way to remove the chains of slavery and escape. He hated having to plead and beg when all he’d done was follow orders. 

“What are you doing here boy” ground out Lord Grey. 

“I was asked to bring refreshments. I’m sorry if I offended you and your guest in some way” Cole replied keeping his voice soft. 

Lord Grey sighed “Fine boy, serve us and go; then send up a proper server.” 

“Yes, my lord” Cole muttered meekly, glad for the opportunity to leave. 

“Oh, but why look a gift horse in the mouth?” smirked Fen, drawling out his words. “We could have so much more fun with the boy here. After all you were just complaining about how much stress the trade negotiations with Allflax is putting on you”. 

“That may be so, but the boy is only trained as a gardener, he would not know how to serve any other way” Grey snapped back. 

“See, so touchy. You’re just proving my point.” Drawled out Lord Fen his voice as smooth as satin. 

Lord Grey rubbed his forehead and sighed “You’re going to complain until you either drive me insane or you get your way; so fine the boy may stay. But if he is going to be here for an extended period of time, I don’t want him looking so messy.”

Lord Grey turned looking at Cole “Cole, go shower and change into a fresh set of clothes, be as quick as you can, no dawdling” 

“Yes Master” Cole replied rushing off to do as told, also stopping by the gardens quickly to let Gus know where he’d be. 

Cole returned in what he figured was record time, only to find the Lords looking displeased. Though if it was with him or not Cole had not a clue. 

Cole was walking over to the table again getting ready to bow to Lord Grey when he felt hands on him pulling him down. Since the only person in the room that could possibly do that was Lord Fen, Cole didn’t resist and instead fell into the man’s lap. 

He did not fight him, but instead sent a pleading look to Lord Grey hopping the man would express displeasure at Fen’s behavior and get the man to release him. 

“Is that really necessary?” 

“Completely, after all look at this delectable fruit, especially now that the dirt has all been washed off.” 

Grey gave Fen a hard look and then sighed “So long as this keeps you quiet and not distracting me as I work on the draft for this trade agreement I don’t care. But remember that Cole does not belong to you, he is my slave so behave accordingly” 

“Oh, don’t worry, I know who this delectable fruit belongs to; I just want to have a taste” 

Cole stayed there in Fen’s lap; enduring well the man ran his hands over him. Cole stayed silent, not too concerned since Grey had reminded Fen not to go too far, though what that meant Cole wasn’t 100% sure. But it was best to not think of such things and instead focus on the job at hand. 

Fen proceeded from running his hands over Cole’s arms and back to kissing his neck. Cole stiffened at the feeling of the man’s lips. Electing a small chuckle from Fen. 

This thankfully caused Lord Grey to look up from what he was doing. Taking pity on the boy he called “Cole come here, I think you should rest your head for a bit on my lap.”

Cole internally leapt with joy; it was only the knowledge of how offended Fen would be at the action that stopped Cole from physically leaping from his lap to Grey’s side. 

Cole carefully climbed off Fen’s lap, and then crawled over to Grey. Uncertain about permission to walk since he was no longer dealing with just Lord Grey but Lord Fen as well, who was annoyed with his prize being removed. 

Fen pouted “I suppose the boy is your toy, though I doubt you make proper use of him. Any time you leave for a trip I’d be happy to have the boy temporarily join my household” purred the man. 

“I’ll consider it should I go on a trip” Lord Grey replied, now stroking Cole’s hair, causing the boy to practically melt under the man’s touch. His touch was safe and oh so welcome after Fen’s touch that was so clearly only held back by the fact that Cole belonged to another. 

Cole shivered softly hoping Lord Grey had no trips planned in the near future. He was uncertain if he could make himself submit to Lord Fen if the man demanded it. 

Cole continued there going back and forth between the men, occasionally doing things like massaging shoulders and retrieving refills. Thankfully, Lord Fen didn’t push things more then just kissing his neck, which Cole didn’t actually find unpleasant in itself just what it suggested. But still Cole definitely preferred to be beside Lord Grey when given the opportunity to chose between the two.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading, I hope everyone is safe and sound. Might take me a bit to figure out the next chapter since work is crazy busy right now.


End file.
